1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device to be fitted to a vehicle, such as a truck, in order to handle a load in a tray or in a container or to transfer such load from the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Self contained equipment attached to a truck chassis to handle containers is already known, in particular that which carries out the following operations: lowers the container carried on the truck to the ground; loads the container from the ground on to the truck; and lifts the front of the container, causing it to pivot on the back of the truck for unloading purposes.
Such devices are described in various French patents including French patents Nos. 2,185,520 and 2,315,409. They are known under the commercial name of "AMPLIROLL".
In prior art devices, as described above, the vehicle has a container tipping axis. The tipping axis is located to the rear of the tipping rod which carries the container and is fixed and stationary in relation to the chassis of the truck and extends transversely thereof. This structure determines the placement of the center of gravity of the container carried by the truck on the chassis of the truck. Such placement of the center of gravity determines the distribution of the load between the various axles of the vehicle. This distribution of the load is satisfactory for certain transport vehicles. However, this distribution is not satisfactory when the load on the axle or axles is over 40% of the total load, which is the case in vehicles having two front axles.